The M4 still packs LTE, a 720p (1280x720 pixel) screen, 2 GB of DRAM, an UltraPixel camera, a dual-core CPU, 16 GB of NAND flash storage, and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean (which may be outdated by the launch date). The body appears to be an aluminum unibody, similar to the HTC One.

The device is expected to retain the HTC One's shortcomings as well, lacking removable batteries or swappable microSD storage. The battery is reportedly a 1,700 mAh unit, due to the less powerful spec.

The M4 is expected to be rebranded to the HTC One Mini or something similar (the HTC One was codenamed M7) and will likely launch in Q2 2013. HTC has struggled with supply issues, but hopefully this budget handset, which uses cheaper, more plentiful components will be spared such troubles.

The HTC One Mini could vie with Apple, Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone 4S for entry-level smartphone dollars. The $99 USD iPhone 4S, which has a similar, but slightly less powerful spec, remains a popular seller.

I've noticed the same thing. There aren't really any high end phones with smaller sized screens any more. The smaller phones may share a name with the top end phones but the specs are always a lot worse.

This one may be closer than the S3 mini or other examples but that remains to be seen as they don't say exactly what the dual core cpu is. If it's something weak like a dual core 1-1.5ghz arm A9 design then that is a pretty big step back. If it's a dual core Krait chip then it's not too bad. I really don't think the quad cores are all that useful in phones outside of looking good in the threaded benchmarks.

The screen sounds descent (340dpi still) but you do have to actually see a screen to asses it's quality.

If it comes out near the end of the summer, it may also be competing with the iPhone 5, which is still quite competitive in the mid-upper range benchmarks despite having a dual core chip (newer architecture than A9).

Considering the overheating issues that the Nexus4 and (to a lesser extent) the Galaxy SIV seem to have, I find it unlikely that top of the line SoCs will find their way into smaller form factors anytime soon - they just suck down too much power and give off too much heat right now for that to happen.

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